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<![CDATA[Latest Journals @ <img src="/images/Blog Banner Small.jpg">]]> http://stephanie-brown.com/blog/?rss=yes Sat, 27 Apr 2024 08:23:26 +0000 en-us ]]> <![CDATA[Wicked Grace Blog Tour]]> http://stephanie-brown.com/blog/?j=16 Thu, 16 Feb 2023 00:08:23 +0000 http://stephanie-brown.com/blog/?j=16 He’s a grumpy demon prince. She’s a sunshine magical orphan who’s his fated mate and forbidden. But can he survive rejecting her?
Demon prince Alexei is ruthless in business and deadly in battle. The mafia boss will do anything to protect his family, even consider an arranged marriage with a royal he doesn’t love.
There’s just one problem.
When the grumpy hero rescues a sunshine princess locked away in a tower, he knows she’s his fated mate. She also seems to be a freakin’ forbidden angel. Like the villain he is, Alexei rejects her without saying why.
Despite her tortuous childhood, Jolene is determined to find her real family and win her grumpy prince. Come on—the man has wings! But loving her antihero makes him a target of her human enemies who are out to destroy all supernaturals.
These two opposites attract in all the wicked ways. But when supernatural children in Alexei’s hometown start disappearing, the two must work together, and Jolene will have to reveal that her sunshine-and-sparkles magic isn’t what it seems. Can they find their happily ever after or will their differences and enemies destroy them both?
Publication Date: February 14, 2023
Publisher: City Owl Press
Language: English
Print Length: 364

Want to delve into more of Luna's work? Check out her completed Legacy Series, her on-going Syn City Shifter Series.
Want to keep up to date on Luna's work? Follow her on Amazon, Bookbub, Goodreads, and join her street team group, Luna's Lovelies, for excerpts, giveaways, and sneak peeks at upcoming work.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Luna Joya writes sexy hexy romances in the award-winning Legacy Series.
Fluent in sarcasm and penal code, Luna prosecutes by day and writes at night. She loves history, especially Los Angeles and Hollywood lore.
A survivor of traumatic brain injury with steel body parts, she lives in SoCal with her combat veteran husband and their two-pound terror of a rescue pup.

Admin / 16 Feb 2023, 00:08AM]]> <![CDATA[Wicked Match Blog Tour]]> http://stephanie-brown.com/blog/?j=15 Tue, 15 Nov 2022 00:19:42 +0000 http://stephanie-brown.com/blog/?j=15 Good girl Prys Bane is the ultimate witch princess—titled, rich, beautiful, and from the best royal bloodlines. But the STEM genius would rather hide with her statistics and crush on a forbidden bodyguard than marry a proper prince. Better to guarantee that no one discovers her true magic—powers more suited to a storybook villain than any princess.

Bad boy John Donovan has pretended to be a bodyguard while hiding his supernatural double agent status from everyone—even his own sisters who see him as the villain. Crushing on Prys seemed safe until he learns she’s not only the witch magistrate investigating a murder where his sister is the chief suspect, but Prys is also the matchmaker hired to force him into an arranged marriage.

When John and Prys are pulled into a deadly mystery that comes closer and closer to the couple by the hour, they must work together. When Prys discovers John’s kink, these enemies quickly become lovers whose passions ignite. Can this princess and her antihero find happily ever or will the killer be a best friend whose betrayal neither can survive?
Publication Date: November, 2022
Publisher: City Owl Press
Language: English
Print Length: 388
Check it out on Amazon: https://mybook.to/WickedMatch

Want to delve into more of Luna's work? Check out her completed Legacy Series, her on-going Syn City Shifter Series.
Want to keep up to date on Luna's work? Follow her on Amazon, Bookbub, Goodreads, and join her street team group, Luna's Lovelies, for excerpts, giveaways, and sneak peeks at upcoming work.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Luna Joya writes sexy hexy romances in the award-winning Legacy Series.
Fluent in sarcasm and penal code, Luna prosecutes by day and writes at night. She loves history, especially Los Angeles and Hollywood lore.
A survivor of traumatic brain injury with steel body parts, she lives in SoCal with her combat veteran husband and their two-pound terror of a rescue pup.
Find more about Luna Joya on her website: https://lunajoya.com/

Excerpt:
“Tart.” She blurted the correction instead of asking why he’d avoided the question.
“Name calling already? I’m down for that kink although I thought tart was more of a gender-specific—”
“The pastry.” So many words. The man hadn’t said more than two sentences to her in as many years, and now, when she couldn’t talk, couldn’t think, couldn’t plan out what to say, he wanted to chat. “It was a tart.” She pointed to the baker’s box.
“Oh, those look good.” He sat a hip on her client files, sending papers into an unorganized spill. She twitched with the need to straighten the mess. He’d gone from sexy pirate to owning her desk like a displaced billionaire on an entitlement trip. She’d binged on romance novels lately as they were her only escape from witch politics and work, but the man seriously hit every hot-guy role she’d imagined. Until he reached for her tarts.
“Hey.” She smacked at his hand. “Those are my sweets. I nearly died for them. And you didn’t even ask.”
He caught her wrist, and her heart did a funny little flip. His fingers were warm and strong, not squeezing or holding her in place. Just wrapping as if he’d needed to touch her, to stroke his thumb against her skin.

Admin / 15 Nov 2022, 00:19AM]]> <![CDATA[Kestrel's Dance Blog Tour]]> http://stephanie-brown.com/blog/?j=14 Tue, 01 Nov 2022 04:29:31 +0000 http://stephanie-brown.com/blog/?j=14
Before Kestrel can plot a course, she crosses paths with an enigmatic dancer who offers an enticing bargain: sail her home to the Continent, an ocean away, and she'll reveal the mysteries of magic Kestrel has longed all her life to know.

The temptation of answers endangers her crew and might ruin her privateer status. Worse, taking on this passenger could thrust her into the clutches of the ever-watchful Danisoban mages who lie in wait for her to make the perfect mistake.

Every decision is fraught with danger. Each wrong turn may mean her death or the death of her crew. And Captain Kestrel can walk away from none of them.

Kestrel, the pirate who can whistle up the wind, returns in book two of the Mad Kestrel Series. Captain Kes will defy the king, gamble with her friends' lives, and run the risk of capture by evil mages to get her hands on the magical knowledge so long denied to her.

ASIN:‎ B09YC8JSP5
Publisher:‎ Lore Seekers Press (June 24, 2022)
Publication date: ‎June 24, 2022
Language: English
Print length:‎ 319 pages
Check it out on Amazon: http://mybook.to/KestrelsDance
Check out Book One: http://mybook.to/MadKestrel

Love the Mad Kestrel series and want to stay up to date on Misty Massey's next release? Follow Misty on Amazon here: author.to/MistyMassey or check out her website: https://www.mistymassey.com/
Review from Booklist for The Mad Kestrel Series:
Massey debuts with a colorful romp through strange lands and stranger seas. In a world in which magic is a monopoly of the Danisobans, and all children showing signs of power are taken from their parents and raised by that order, young Kestrel had hidden her talent and eventually escaped to sea, where magic is cancelled by water. Now risen to the post of quartermaster of a pirate ship, she loves her life. But to keep it, she must never let anyone know that she can magically control the wind. When her captain is entrapped and arrested, the young quartermaster must gather and command the crew for a rescue. That takes all the strength and wit Kestrel can command—and guarded use of her magic. This Errol Flynn–ish swashbuckler features loads of action and larger-than-life characters, plausibly grounded in the realities of life at sea. A real page-turner, and a successor is in the works.
Rafflecopter: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/9751c04276/?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Misty Massey is the author of Mad Kestrel, a rollicking adventure of magic on the high seas, Kestrel’s Voyages, a collection of short stories featuring those rambunctious pirates, and the upcoming Kestrel’s Dance. She is a co-editor of The Weird Wild West and Lawless Lands: Tales of the Weird Frontier, and was a founding member of Magical Words. Her short fiction has appeared in many anthologies and she’s working on a series of Shadow Council novellas for Falstaff Press featuring the famous gunslinger Doc Holliday. When she’s not writing, Misty studies and performs Middle Eastern dance and will, on occasion, surprise everyone with a batch of home-baked snickerdoodles. She’s a sucker for good sushi, African coffee, SC Gamecock football, and the darkest rum she can find. You can keep up with what Misty’s doing at mistymassey.com, Facebook and Twitter.

Excerpt Four:
Shadd climbed up from the lower deck hatch. His shaggy hair was more disheveled than usual, soot stained his cheeks and his homespun tunic was hanging loose.
“What the hell’s happening?” she bellowed, not waiting for him to come any closer.
“I thought you said a storm’s comin’, but there ain’t no wind nor chop.” He shoved the ends of his tunic into his breeches.
“Gundeck secure?”
“As the Mayor of Pecheta’s strongbox, Captain, aye.”
The sudden moaning was long, and loud, an eerie wail raising gooseflesh on her arms. It shuddered up through the decks and vibrated her very bones. No way this was thunder. At the same instant, the ship’s timbers groaned in wooden agony. The Thanos began shaking. Mildly at first, increasing in intensity until the barrels tied to the mast rattled against the wooden deck. The ship tilted, and Kestrel skipped a few steps, fighting to maintain her balance. Oil splashed out of the lanterns on that side, throwing the deck into heavier shadow. She grabbed onto Shadd’s shirt, trying to keep from tumbling to the deck. Men in the rigging cried out at the unexpected lurch. The ship righted itself, and Kestrel let her quartermaster go.
“Earthquake?” she asked.
“At this depth?” He frowned, clearly puzzled. “Most we’d feel would be a heavier roll.”
“If that’s not it—” she stopped, confused. They stared at each other helplessly.
Deafening clanking exploded over the thunder. The capstan, the huge spool on which the messenger rope was wound, began to spin, slowly at first, then building up speed. It unwound its long rope, the anchor chain to which the rope was attached banging against the hull loud enough to be heard on deck. Two men were standing nearby, watching helplessly as the spokes shot past in a blur. The rope whined dangerously.
Kestrel took the ladder two steps at a time, sprinting across the deck toward the capstan. “Why’s it playing out so fast?”
“Don’t know, Captain,” David DeadEye cried. “The bight slipped right off, and around she went.”
“Like a fish with a hook,” yelled Hudee.
Shadd caught up to her, panting. “What’s happenin’?”
“We have to stop the anchor!”

Admin / 1 Nov 2022, 04:29AM]]> <![CDATA[How to Date a Fury by Luna Joya]]> http://stephanie-brown.com/blog/?j=13 Wed, 28 Sep 2022 01:14:58 +0100 http://stephanie-brown.com/blog/?j=13
It all started the night Chase, my mountain lion shifter ex, reappeared. We’d had a whole good girl/bad boy romance going until he abandoned me a decade ago. I’d gone to Syn City for a little fun before being trapped in my hometown forever.

Then I was murdered by a maniac and my night really fell apart.

But somehow, Chase managed to strike a deal on a blood oath and bring me back as a Fury. He wants a second chance at romance, claiming we’re fated mates.

Now, I have to deal with the guy I thought I’d never see again, find and punish my murderer, and participate in a giant supernatural roller derby (long story)—all while trying to earn my wings.

And if I fail? I’ll end up dead. Again…only this time, it’ll be permanent.

All I can say is that it’s a good thing hell hath no fury like an actual Fury.

How to Date a Fury, the first book in the Syn City trilogy, is a dark, sexy, paranormal romance featuring a reluctant Fury and the shifter who broke her heart but wants a shot at mending it. Happily ever after (and plenty of snarky fun) guaranteed. Perfect for fans of Linsey Hall, Jaymin Eve, and Amelia Hutchins. Download today.

Publication Date: September, 2022
Publisher: City Owl Press
Page Count: 232
Genre: Paranormal Romance/Mystery
ASIN: B0BB99WLPJ

Buy Links:
Amazon: https://mybook.to/How2DateFury

Want to delve into more of Luna's work? Check out her completed Legacy Series, her on-going Wicked Series, and for our LA readers, check out her signing at Book Carnival on October 29th from noon-2 p.m.
Want to keep up to date on Luna's work? Follow her on Amazon, Bookbub, Goodreads, and join her street team group, Luna's Lovelies, for excerpts, giveaways, and sneak peeks at upcoming work.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Luna Joya writes sexy hexy romances in the award-winning Legacy Series.
Fluent in sarcasm and penal code, Luna prosecutes by day and writes at night. She loves history, especially Los Angeles and Hollywood lore.
A survivor of traumatic brain injury with steel body parts, she lives in SoCal with her combat veteran husband and their two-pound terror of a rescue pup.
Find more about Luna Joya on her website: https://lunajoya.com/

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/9751c04274/?

Admin / 28 Sep 2022, 01:14AM]]> <![CDATA[WIcked Crown by Luna Joya]]> http://stephanie-brown.com/blog/?j=12 Thu, 07 Jul 2022 20:11:31 +0100 http://stephanie-brown.com/blog/?j=12
Supermodel Vori would be happy to stay in the human world, blissfully ignoring her true nature. But no. The blood vow she once made requires her to return to the Goblin Court. And since going alone would mean consenting to an arranged marriage, she needs a fake husband. Someone no one would miss if there was an unfortunate…accident. Vori knows the perfect villain for the job.

Witch Perry used to be a hotshot lawyer. But that was before he made all the wrong choices, wound up in league with a demon, and was left to rot in prison. Now, he has a second chance. He can finally earn his redemption. Too bad his last hope is the woman he ghosted two years ago.

It’s not long before Vori and Perry realize they aren’t as different as they thought—and that the line between enemies and lovers can be razor thin. But if they want their happily ever after, they’ll first have to stop a supernatural killer and survive a royal smackdown. Should be easy for a goblin princess and her dashing antihero, right?

If only.

Publication Date: July 5, 2022
Publisher: City Owl Press
PRINT ISBN: 978-1-64898-206-4
DIGITAL ISBN: 978-1-64898-205-7
ASIN: B0B2ZDPNP1

Buy Links:
Amazon: mybook.to/WickedCrownBK
B&N: https://tinyurl.com/7jrbmp45
Kobo: https://tinyurl.com/yckdcmyp
Apple: https://tinyurl.com/msk4e5bd
BookBub: https://tinyurl.com/2p9xv857
Goodreads: https://tinyurl.com/2p82rkvf

Want to delve into more of Luna's work? Check out her Legacy Series here: http://mybook.to/LegacySeries
Want to keep up to date on Luna's work? Follow her on Amazon, Bookbub, Goodreads, and join her street team group, Luna's Lovelies, for excerpts, giveaways, and sneak peeks at upcoming work.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Luna Joya writes sexy hexy romances in the award-winning Legacy Series.
Fluent in sarcasm and penal code, Luna prosecutes by day and writes at night. She loves history, especially Los Angeles and Hollywood lore.
A survivor of traumatic brain injury with steel body parts, she lives in SoCal with her combat veteran husband and their two-pound terror of a rescue pup.
Find more about Luna Joya on her website: https://lunajoya.com/

Excerpt: “Goblin.” The word tasted sour on Perry’s tongue. He pressed as far into the leather seats as he could. The material creaked beneath him from the pressure of fighting for one more inch.
They needed to go now. He hadn’t made it this far by standing still as easy prey. He opened his parched mouth to demand the not-a-mobster get them out of there, but more words wouldn’t come. He could out-argue anyone, and this creature had robbed him of speech.
“We n…n…” He swallowed to stop the stammer. “We need to go before it comes back.”
“Ooh, I’d be careful.” Alys used her damned nursery rhyme-reciting voice. “She doesn’t like when you call her an ‘it.’ That’s dehumanizing.”
She? What was the crazy woman talking about? Oh, the goblin.
He had to get out of here. Maybe he could distract it. Or trick it into falling into the canyon that was only inches away from the Hummer’s passenger side. He jerked on the door handle. Locked. He slid his hands, slick with sweat, along the leather, fumbling for the control.
With a shove, he opened the door and almost crashed into Vori.
“Perry.” His supermodel blinked those enormous violet eyes at him. That’s right. Stare at her eyes and not at her naked...
She draped an arm across her breasts, covering her nipples but not much else. Long dark hair that was so straight and shiny she must’ve spent hours in a salon fell over her shoulders. Her cheeks were rosy, flushed as if she’d tumbled out of bed. That image sent all his thoughts careening off course. What had he been doing? Why was his heart racing? Oh yes, terrifying monster outside.
“Get in here.” Grabbing her wrist, he remembered how delicate she was beneath that tough exterior. She was tall but so graceful and thin. He yanked her inside, almost on top of him and slammed the door shut.
Alone, he could’ve risked his safety in running from the beast.
But not with her.
All her creamy skin might bruise or mark so easily. Didn’t goblins steal away beautiful women in the fairy tales? If he’d learned anything from the few years his father had bothered to stick around, it’d been that stories had some truth. Look at the legends of the old hags that had been rooted in the witch Senate. Or the very existence of the creature he’d seen outside.
He glanced out the window. She’d been out there alone, unarmed. Anything could’ve happened to her.
“You could’ve been hurt. Killed.” A need to protect her rushed over him. He could do for her what everyone had failed to do for his sister Lili. He wouldn’t lose Vori. “We have to go. Maybe we can outrun it.” And the guards that had been following them.
“It?” She sounded hurt, as if he’d sliced her with his words.
He’d said something wrong, but what? “The goblin? Did you see it? How did you get past it?”
She slid a hand up his chest, pulling him tighter, not pushing him away.
Relief slammed into him. She’d seen it. She’d escaped it. She’d managed to find them after doing whatever it was she’d jumped out of the car to do, and now she was pressed against him. Naked and stunning and perfect.
She curved her lips into a seductive smile. “I am it.”

Admin / 7 Jul 2022, 20:11PM]]> <![CDATA[Kestrel's Dance!]]> http://stephanie-brown.com/blog/?j=11 Fri, 01 Jul 2022 19:59:57 +0100 http://stephanie-brown.com/blog/?j=11
Before Kestrel can plot a course, she crosses paths with an enigmatic dancer who offers an enticing bargain: sail her home to the Continent, an ocean away, and she'll reveal the mysteries of magic Kestrel has longed all her life to know.

The temptation of answers endangers her crew and might ruin her privateer status. Worse, taking on this passenger could thrust her into the clutches of the ever-watchful Danisoban mages who lie in wait for her to make the perfect mistake.

Every decision is fraught with danger. Each wrong turn may mean her death or the death of her crew. And Captain Kestrel can walk away from none of them.

Kestrel, the pirate who can whistle up the wind, returns in book two of the Mad Kestrel Series. Captain Kes will defy the king, gamble with her friends' lives, and run the risk of capture by evil mages to get her hands on the magical knowledge so long denied to her.

ASIN:‎ B09YC8JSP5
Publisher:‎ Lore Seekers Press (June 24, 2022)
Publication date: ‎June 24, 2022
Language: English
Print length:‎ 319 pages
Check it out on Amazon: http://mybook.to/KestrelsDance
Check out Book One: http://mybook.to/MadKestrel

Love the Mad Kestrel series and want to stay up to date on Misty Massey's next release? Follow Misty on Amazon here: author.to/MistyMassey or check out her website: https://www.mistymassey.com/
Review from Booklist for The Mad Kestrel Series:
Massey debuts with a colorful romp through strange lands and stranger seas. In a world in which magic is a monopoly of the Danisobans, and all children showing signs of power are taken from their parents and raised by that order, young Kestrel had hidden her talent and eventually escaped to sea, where magic is cancelled by water. Now risen to the post of quartermaster of a pirate ship, she loves her life. But to keep it, she must never let anyone know that she can magically control the wind. When her captain is entrapped and arrested, the young quartermaster must gather and command the crew for a rescue. That takes all the strength and wit Kestrel can command—and guarded use of her magic. This Errol Flynn–ish swashbuckler features loads of action and larger-than-life characters, plausibly grounded in the realities of life at sea. A real page-turner, and a successor is in the works.

Rafflecopter:
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/9751c04270/?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Misty Massey is the author of Mad Kestrel, a rollicking adventure of magic on the high seas, Kestrel’s Voyages, a collection of short stories featuring those rambunctious pirates, and the upcoming Kestrel’s Dance. She is a co-editor of The Weird Wild West and Lawless Lands: Tales of the Weird Frontier, and was a founding member of Magical Words. Her short fiction has appeared in many anthologies and she’s working on a series of Shadow Council novellas for Falstaff Press featuring the famous gunslinger Doc Holliday. When she’s not writing, Misty studies and performs Middle Eastern dance and will, on occasion, surprise everyone with a batch of home-baked snickerdoodles. She’s a sucker for good sushi, African coffee, SC Gamecock football, and the darkest rum she can find. You can keep up with what Misty’s doing at mistymassey.com, Facebook and Twitter.

Excerpt Three:
The rhythmic creaking of the ship rising and falling over the water was hypnotic. For now, she could forget her worries and just sail, the wheel under her hands and the wind keening through the lines. “Captain!”
The cry startled her from her reverie. Shadd was running toward her as if his life depended on it. “Get down!”
“Are we under attack?” She scanned the water. No ships were in sight, at least not within the range of her naked eye.
He flung himself up the quarterdeck steps, yanking his scarf from around his neck. “Ye’re on fire!” “What?”
“Yer shirt’s on bloody fire!” Shadd nearly knocked her off her feet, patting at her chest with his scarf. Fire? Kestrel pushed Shadd away, and glanced down at her body. Redness was beaming from under her shirt, flickering like an ember. But no heat, no burning. If it wasn’t fire… Slowly she pulled open the neck of her shirt, and drew out McAvery’s amulet. A light was shining from deep inside it, casting scarlet onto Shadd’s surprised face.
“Why’s it doin’ that?” he asked, dropping his scarf and backing away.
“I don’t know,” she said. She lifted the gem up higher. The light inside it danced off the facets, glittering. Kestrel tilted her head. A dark spot moved in the heart of the gem. A flaw, perhaps. But it moved. Of all the jewels she’d ever seen, not a one had moving parts inside it. She brought it closer to her face, staring intently. The spot grew, changed shape. A fuzzy star. No, a person. Arms, legs and head. As she watched, the figure became more distinct; a man, handsome, with a face she knew all too well.

Admin / 1 Jul 2022, 19:59PM]]> <![CDATA[The Dead of Autumn!]]> http://stephanie-brown.com/blog/?j=10 Sun, 29 May 2022 03:00:06 +0100 http://stephanie-brown.com/blog/?j=10
About the book:
A teenager dressed as Tinker Bell never made it to the Halloween party.
Her murders sends a ripple of fear through Piper Blackwell's rural jurisdiction.
Investigating the crime, the young sheriff and her detective are drawn into an underworld they didn't know existed. Can the pair survive the trip into the dark heart of once idyllic Spencer County?
Can they find the killer before more lives are are destroyed and he strikes again?

Publisher: ‎Boone Street Press (May 15, 2022)
Publication date: ‎May 15, 2022
Language: English
Print length:‎ 319 pages
Buy link: mybook.to/DeadofAutmn

Dead of Autumn is book five of the Piper Blackwell Series. Want to read the series in order? Check it out here: http://mybook.to/PiperBlackwellSeries.
Prefer audio? The Piper Blackwell series is in audio, read by Catherine Wenglowski. Start with book one of the series: mybook.to/DeadofWinterAudio

Sign-up for her newsletter: https://jeanrabe.com/sign-up-for-my-newsletter/ and follow her on Amazon: http://author.to/JeanRabe to keep up with her latest works!
Rafflecopter:
<a class="rcptr" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/9751c04268/" rel="nofollow" data-raflid="9751c04268" data-theme="classic" data-template="" id="rcwidget_5u8r3i0d">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
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Picture
About the Author:
USA Today best-seller, Jean Rabe's impressive writing career spans decades, starting as a newspaper reporter and bureau chief.
From there she went on to become the director of RPGA, a co-editor with Martin H. Greenberg for DAW books, and, most notably, Rabe is an award-winning author of more than forty science fiction/fantasy and murder mystery thrillers.
She writes mysteries and fantasies, because life is too short to be limited to one genre--and she does it with dogs tangled at her feet, because life is too short not to be covered in fur.
Find out more about her at www.jeanrabe.com

Excerpt:
Dead.
Too damn pretty and way too young to be dead, Teegan thought as she looked at the photo Sheriff Piper Blackwell had emailed her. The makeup, hair, sequins, so well decorated for the night. Teegan wondered if the coroner could conduct the autopsy without ruining all the sparkles. The girl had gone to a lot of effort to look like that.
Too much work to be washed away on a stainless-steel table in the basement of a hospital. She should be buried in all her glittery glory.
“You would’ve won all the costume contests for certain.”
Teegan had taken Rodney Rhimer’s 9-1-1 call. “Somebody’s dead, in a ditch,” he’d said. “It’s horrible. Come quick.”
She’d hoped it had been a prank. Teegan answered a lot of prank calls on Halloween, and most of them had a fun element.
Way too young.
Creepy.
Evil.
Teegan shivered and glanced away from the screen. She’d heard the sheriff call the girl Steampunkerbell. Teegan liked steampunk styles, almost as much as goth. Teegan would have loved a Halloween costume like that in her earlier, skinnier years.
“I’m supposed to help find out who you are … were … pretty girl.”
No active missing person reports in the county fit. But the girl probably hadn’t been missing long enough for someone to have noticed. She wouldn’t go unidentified long, Teegan knew. A girl like that had people, friends and relatives, and they would be looking for her when the night ended and she didn’t come home.
But Piper wanted her identified ASAP and had tasked Teegan with checking high school yearbooks and online sources trying to put a name to the face, as no ID was found at the scene.
No hits on fingerprints so far. The girl looked too innocent to have gotten in trouble with the law, too young for the military.
Teegan guessed the girl was fourteen, fifteen … somewhere in there.
She could use some help.
“It’s an odd night.” Teegan called Zeke, the first-shift dispatcher. “Peculiar stuff. Weird 9-1-1s. Always strange calls on Halloween, which is why I like to work it. And—” she paused for dramatic effect. “Tonight, we have a murder.”
“Murder? You sure it’s a murder?”
“Well, I heard them mention it might be a hunting accident, but it sounds like Sheriff Blackwell thinks it’s a murder.”
“Who got killed?”
Zeke sounded out of breath, and Teegan was curious why. “I don’t know. We don’t know. You busy, Zeke? Got company? Did I interrupt something? Sounds like you’re—”
“I’m on my bike, riding home. I was at Nang’s garage working on my car.”
“How about you detour over to the department? I’ll order Chinese from the delivery service. My treat. I could use an extra pair of eyes on this maybe-a-hunting-accident-but-more-likely-a-murder-thing. High school yearbooks.”
“Yearbooks? Someone young?”
“Yeah, Zeke. Too young.”

Admin / 29 May 2022, 03:00AM]]> <![CDATA[The Audiobook Everyone Needs!]]> http://stephanie-brown.com/blog/?j=9 Tue, 23 Nov 2021 13:33:41 +0000 http://stephanie-brown.com/blog/?j=9
DEAD OF WINTER, DEAD OF NIGHT, and now, DEAD OF SUMMER, have been converted into ear candy (or, audiobooks) for your listening enjoyment.

About the Books:

DEAD OF WINTER
In a deceptively peaceful county, a murderer hides in plain sight.
Fifty-eight minutes into her first day on the job, 23-year-old Sheriff Piper Blackwell is faced with a grisly murder, the victim artfully posed amid decorations on his lawn. Drawing on former military training, Piper must prove herself worthy of the sheriff's badge, and that won't be easy.
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Length: 8 hr 47 min
Language: English
Buy Link: mybook.to/DeadofWinterAudio

DEAD OF NIGHT
As Sheriff Piper Blackwell rushes to a clandestine meeting with an aging, paranoid veteran who believes spies are trailing his every move, she is caught in a fierce thunderstorm. Pounding rain drums against the bluff, washing away the earth and revealing a grisly secret someone tried to bury a long time ago.
Putting a name to the skeleton on the bluff, and searching for the thief who robbed the old veteran of his life’s earnings, sends Piper delving into the sleepy towns that dot her rural county. Now she’s digging into pasts perhaps best left alone.
Accompanied by Chief Deputy Oren Rosenberg, Piper seeks to expose a truth someone wants to remain forever hidden. The investigation may have started with a thunderstorm, but Piper aims to finish it and find justice. Uncovering fragments of Spencer County’s history could prove more dangerous - and deadlier - than she ever expected.
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Length: 8 hr 32 min
Language: English
Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/Dead-Night-Piper-Blackwell-Mystery/dp/B08Q9SFKNY/

DEAD OF SUMMER
Shouts of delight turn to screams of terror when a carnival ride goes berserk at the Spencer County Fair. Sheriff Piper Blackwell must contain the chaos and investigate the possible sabotage, even as she tries to solve a local businessman’s horrific murder.
But managing two investigations with at least one killer on the loose pushes the young officer and her tiny staff to their limits. Can Piper catch the murderer, or will the summer’s body count continue to rise?
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Length: 8hr 19 min
Language: English
Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/Dead-Summer-Piper-Blackwell-Mystery/dp/B094M1NCKF/

Love the Piper Blackwell Series and want to keep up with Jean's latest works? Sign-up for her newsletter: https://jeanrabe.com/sign-up-for-my-newsletter/ and follow her on Amazon: http://author.to/JeanRabe.
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USA Today best-seller, Jean Rabe's impressive writing career spans decades, starting as a newspaper reporter and bureau chief.
From there she went on to become the director of RPGA, a co-editor with Martin H. Greenberg for DAW books, and, most notably, Rabe is an award-winning author of more than forty science fiction/fantasy and murder-mystery thrillers.
She writes mysteries and fantasies because life is too short to be limited to one genre--and she does it with dogs tangled at her feet because life is too short not to be covered in fur.
Find out more about her at www.jeanrabe.com

About the Narrator:
Catherine Wenglowski is a New York City based audiobook narrator. With a background in theater and as a classically trained singer, combined with her lifelong love of reading, Catherine uses her trained ear and creativity to add breath and life to characters and to connect with her audience. Visit her website at: https://www.wenglowvo.com/

Excerpt: Oren twisted the key and turned on the heater. The other deputies drove either older Crown Vics or a relatively recent model of Taurus. Oren’s was a 2015, newest in the small fleet, and with comfortable leather seats. He’d claimed it a year ago come February when the county caucus appointed him sheriff to fill out Paul Blackwell’s term when Paul quit because of the cancer. Oren won the primary and figured he’d take the election in November. Out of respect, no one else in the department contested him for it.
He hadn’t counted on a challenge from Paul’s daughter, Piper, her coming home from Iraq, putting signs up everywhere, bright neon yellow and screaming red: Vote for Blackwell, Spencer County Sheriff.
And more than that, Oren certainly hadn’t counted on her winning.
It was a pity vote, he figured, pity for poor sick Paul Blackwell, the beloved sheriff who’d been with the department thirty years and had held four terms. Name recognition: Paul Blackwell…Piper Blackwell. P. Blackwell. Blackwell Blackwell Blackwell. Probably half the people who voted for her didn’t know they were electing a shikse…and one the same age as his granddaughter. Twenty-three. The pity vote and ignorance, likely coupled with a hint of anti-Semitism, wanting to elect a Protestant of some stripe.
“Gornisht helfn,” he muttered.
“Hey…you zoning out on me, Oren? Earth to Oren. Come in, Oren. I said, what do you want to talk to me ‘bout? Nice car. What kind of mileage does this get?”
Oren smelled whiskey on Chris’s breath, and when the man belched there was a burst of something sharp, maybe spiced sausage. There was a strong trace of cigarette smoke imbedded in the parka; Chris probably had to do his smoking outside.
“You found Conrad,” Oren stated.
“Well, yeah. Was looking out the picture window, saw him in that damned sleigh.”
“What time did you see him?”
“Well…let me think. It was heading toward midnight. We were waiting for the ball to drop. Not yet midnight, maybe twenty to, a quarter to, around then, you know.”
“Go on…the Delaney place was dark—”
“Except for the spotlight. Yeah, well, I wouldn’t’ve noticed him but for that damned spotlight aimed at that damned sleigh. Actually, Joan saw him first, pointed him out to me, told me I should invite him over, that Conrad shouldn’t sit out there in the cold all by his lonesome.”
“So you walked over to invite him?”
“Well, I opened a window first and hollered. But then I realized he couldn’t hear me over the music. We’d cranked it pretty loud, you know, it being New Year’s Eve and a party and all. So yeah, I went over.”
“Right away when Joan saw him? Twenty to midnight?”
“Yeah, thereabouts. I wanted to make sure I could go over and back and not miss the ball dropping, time for a cigarette in there, too. So I threw on my coat and walked across the road, lit up on the end of his driveway, you know.”
A silence settled, the heater gently purring. Oren glanced out the windshield. Piper had put her camera away and was squatted next to the sleigh, looking at something underneath it. He hoped she had the presence not to pick up anything without properly bagging it.
Oren could have retired after the failed election. He had twenty years with the sheriff’s department and twenty before that with the Rockport police. There was a fine second pension ahead of him. But he had helped two of his kids with their money woes, and helped his granddaughter pay for college. Four years ago he and his wife moved into a new, but modest, beachfront house on Lake Noel in Santa Claus, bought a nice boat that he didn’t get out on often enough, and had a double-wide second garage built to store it in. He figured he needed the chief deputy salary and wouldn’t know what to do with all that retirement time on his hands.
Besides, Piper would have to attend—and pass—the Plainfield Sheriff’s Academy this April. If she failed, and he considered that a distinct possibility, Oren was certain the caucus would put him back in charge.

Admin / 23 Nov 2021, 13:33PM]]> <![CDATA[This book is amazing! You gotta read it!]]> http://stephanie-brown.com/blog/?j=8 Fri, 15 Oct 2021 22:00:37 +0100 http://stephanie-brown.com/blog/?j=8
Daphne de Duras is a proper French duchess by day and fledgling assassin by night. Her latest mission is to dispatch justice and protect the French aristocracy by executing Étienne de Noailles, disgraced former noble, legendary rake, and vampire emissary to the court of King Louis XV.

But Étienne’s alleged crime—the gruesome murder of Madame de Pompadour, the King’s mistress and Daphne's friend—doesn’t quite fit the dashing vampire’s nature. With his immortal days suddenly numbered, Étienne needs to convince his would-be executioner not only of his innocence, but that they should hunt the real killer together—a challenge almost as difficult as convincing himself that he isn’t falling for her.

Daphne reluctantly agrees to a temporary partnership when Étienne persuades her that something more sinister is afoot. He can, after all, help her find answers in places she’s unable to go alone. And despite her deep loathing for any and all vampires, she can't help but start thinking of a few other places she'd like to go with him.

ASIN:‎ B09BQ51FGZ
Publisher:‎ City Owl Press: Mystic Owl (October 14, 2021)
Publication date: ‎October 14, 2021
Language: English
Print length:‎ 263 pages
Check it out on Amazon: http://mybook.to/TAATL
Add it on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58722474-the-assassin-and-the-libertine

Love the Les Dames Dangereuses series and want to stay up to date on Lily Riley's next release? Follow Lily on Amazon here: author.to/LilyRiley or check out her website: https://www.authorlilyriley.com/
Review from Publisher's Weekly:
Scandal, seduction, and supernatural secrets animate Riley’s deliciously decadent debut and Les Dames Dangereuses series launch. In 1765, a blood plague is spreading among the Parisian poor, turning them into vampires. For many, it’s a better fate than starvation as a human. As one of few courtiers infected, “legendary rake” Étienne de Noailles is appointed the vampire emissary to His Majesty. Though he tries to advocate for vampire rights, he’s treated as little more than a threat and a lust object at Versailles.
Read more here>

Admin / 15 Oct 2021, 22:00PM]]> <![CDATA[Check out this amazing book!]]> http://stephanie-brown.com/blog/?j=7 Thu, 23 Sep 2021 11:37:26 +0100 http://stephanie-brown.com/blog/?j=7
Since the Summer of Love, the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco has been known for attracting weird and unconventional souls, but things got even stranger when the monsters moved in.

Magic has returned to the world and with it a host of supernatural creatures—not just vampires and ghosts, but sentient gargoyles, ghouls, sprites, faeries, and more. The frightened citizenry, holier-than-thou bigots, headline-seeking reporters, and harried police refer to them as OTs (Other-Than-Humans), but Thomas Brock and Evelyn Love believe even supernatural creatures have legal rights.

Delve into their case files for a genre-bending mix of mystery, horror, suspense, thrills, courtroom drama, and romance. The city’s OT element is sometimes malevolent, sometimes misunderstood, and often discriminated against. Brock and Love represent them all, dead, undead, or alive—whatever the case, whatever the species.

**Winner of three prestigious Silver Falchion Awards **

for mysteries, thrillers, and suspense novels: Best Fantasy, Best Urban Fantasy, and Best Multi-Genre Novel.

ASIN: B098K6SG49
Publisher: Craig Martelle, Inc (September 20, 2021)
Publication date: September 20, 2021
Language: English
Genre: Paranormal Mystery Thriller
Check it Out on Amazon: http://mybook.to/LoveHaightBk2

Want to stay up to date with Donald and Jean? Follow them on Amazon:
Donald J. Bingle (http://author.to/DonaldJBingle) and Jean Rabe (http://author.to/JeanRabe). New to the Love-Haight Case Files? Check out the rest of the series: http://mybook.to/LoveHaightSeries

Admin / 23 Sep 2021, 05:34AM]]> <![CDATA[Blood Pact is a must read!]]> http://stephanie-brown.com/blog/?j=6 Tue, 22 Jun 2021 20:34:09 +0100 http://stephanie-brown.com/blog/?j=6 In Hiro’s world, youkai are a supernatural story used to scare children into obedience, and to keep men out of back alleys and brothels. Until Sakurai Hideyoshi walks through his door with a fantastical tale of a samurai who had killed a thousand men and drank the blood of his enemies, a man that lived in darkness but sought beauty to keep it at bay.

A story both terrifying and romantic…and completely ridiculous.

Unless it is true.

Convinced something softer lurks behind Hideyoshi’s hard mask, Hiro follows him home. And discovers the story is real.

Only instead of the blood of his enemies, it is innocent blood taken.

Hideyoshi tells him never to return. Yet after Hiro’s mother is mortally wounded, Hiro runs back to the one being he knows with the power to save her. When Hideyoshi can’t, Hiro begs him for the next best thing: the power to avenge her.

As Hiro becomes youkai, he faces a new threat, something darker, older, and far more dangerous. With Hideyoshi at his side, Hiro must decide what he’s willing to sacrifice--and what he’s willing to do--to protect this new life before he loses everything for a second time.

If you like Bella Forrest, P. C. Cast, AJ Tipton, or Anne Rice, you will love this beautiful dark paranormal fantasy romance.

Publisher: City Owl Press (May 4, 2021)
Releases on: May 4, 2021
Genre: LGBTQIA Dark Historical Paranormal Romance
Language: English
ASIN: B091V1P3FT
ISBN: 9781648980831

Buy Links:
Amazon: http://mybook.to/BloodPact
B&N: https://smarturl.it/Youkai2BN
Kobo: https://smarturl.it/Youkai2Kobo
City Owl: https://smarturl.it/Youkai2CO
Add it on Goodreads: https://tinyurl.com/3b3jec53

Love the Youkai Bloodlines Series? Keep an eye out for Blood Bound, coming in Spring 2022.
Worried you might miss it? Join Maguire's Reader Group, Courtney's Coven: https://tinyurl.com/3yuh2vxc or sign up for her newsletter at the bottom of her website: https://www.courtneymaguirewrites.com/about to make sure to keep up to date on your favorite characters.

Admin / 22 Jun 2021, 20:34PM]]> <![CDATA[You don't want to miss this!]]> http://stephanie-brown.com/blog/?j=5 Fri, 04 Jun 2021 06:10:24 +0100 http://stephanie-brown.com/blog/?j=5
He owns the spotlight, she lives in the shadows.

VEE: My only purpose? Keep lethal cryptids in check, and our Company existence secret.
Sometimes a girl needs a night of karaoke and tequila though. Instead, after a vicious new cryptid species crashes the party, I end up saving and carting home a way arrogant, way hot chef. With Bruce Kantor now a temporary roommate it seems like the perfect time to indulge my forbidden civilian fascination—especially the friends-with-benefits part. But the feelings he ignites threaten my oath and mission.

BRUCE: Damn right I’m the bad boy of the culinary world.
I live for the limelight, and the legions of #BruceTheBastard fans love my temper as much as my food. After stomping out of one high-profile gig, all I’m looking for are directions to my next. What I get is a giant Komodo Dragon-wannabe, and Vee Ramirez, the most infuriatingly irresistible woman to ever hit my radar.

Even if we survive the relentless monster on my trail, our future is toast unless I can convince Vee there’s more to life than the Company.

Welcome to Region Two.

Pre-Order on Amazon: http://mybook.to/AgentZero
Add it on Goodreads: https://tinyurl.com/rwpszc23

Join the Rafflecopter here: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/9751c04246/

Want more of the Region Two world? Pre-order the next book in the series, Agent Down, on Amazon: http://mybook.to/AgentDown and
snag a prequel to the series, Agent Alone, on BookFunnel: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/vlwfpkiyon

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Janet Walden-West lives in the Southeast with a pack of show dogs, a couple of kids, and a husband who didn’t read the fine print. A member of the East Tennessee Creative Writers Alliance, she is also a founding member of The Million Words craft blog. She pens inclusive Contemporary Romance and Urban Fantasy. As a two-time Pitch Wars alum turned Pitch Wars 2019 Mentor, Sherrilyn Kenyon scholarship recipient, and Golden Heart® finalist, she believes in paying it forward by supporting burgeoning Southern writers.
She is represented by Eva Scalzo of Speilburg Literary Agency.

Find more about her at janetwaldenwest.weebly.com or on social media.

Admin / 4 Jun 2021, 06:10AM]]> <![CDATA[I'm bored]]> http://stephanie-brown.com/blog/?j=4 Sat, 29 May 2021 06:29:08 +0100 http://stephanie-brown.com/blog/?j=4
Admin / 29 May 2021, 00:21AM]]> <![CDATA[WTF 2020! Why are you so hateful?]]> http://stephanie-brown.com/blog/?j=3 Mon, 06 Jul 2020 04:32:06 +0100 http://stephanie-brown.com/blog/?j=3 I've heard many stupid reasons for not wearing one. It's like being in prison. First of all, that proves that your privileged ass has no clue what it's like to live in prison. Second it proves you lack knowledge and empathy.
Wearing a mask is allowing the government to control me. While I agree that our government is crazy, nuts, insane, and possibly all suffering from untreated syphilis, wearing a mask is about helping keep others safe. It's not about control and taking away your freedom. It's NOT about you.
But tRump said this all a hoax. Maybe try turning of fox news, and all other news at this point, stop listening to a man who has proven he knows nothing and cares about no one but himself (this is true of 90% of all politicians right now on both sides) and listen to actual scientists and doctors. Politicians are not here for you, they only care about themselves. It's nothing new.
But I'm in perfect health so even if I get it I won't die. I'm glad you think you're invincible. Sadly though your not. Think about a few things. What if you get it and are lucky enough to show no symptoms. You visit the store and trying to be nice help an elderly person reach something on a top shelf. She then get's sick and dies. Do you feel ok with the fact that you killed someone because they're old and were gonna die anyway? What if someone passed in on to your grandma or grandpa. Maybe one of your parents. What about your immuno-compromised child? Is it ok that they died because someone else didn't want to be bothered to wear a mask long enough to get groceries? Think about it. Wouldn't you do anything you could to save the people you loved?
My favorite, but we're all gonna end up with it, why not get it all at once and get it over with. While science is still trying to figure this out, there is ZERO proof that you can only get it once. There is proof of people getting over it, thinking they are immune and getting it again. And don't start with the antibodies are good bullshit. I have Hashimoto's which creates antibodies. Those antibodies are horrible. They attack my entire body. They protect me from nothing and make me more vulnerable to all other illnesses. It's the same with lupus and many others.

In short, if you care about anyone other than yourself, you will wear a mask. Even if it's not 100% it's better than 0% any day of the week. Please think about others and please stop proving that you hope people like me die. It's about caring for others. I have asthma and I proudly wear mine if I have to leave my house.

Admin / 5 Jul 2020, 22:06PM]]> <![CDATA[When a FB post makes you think!]]> http://stephanie-brown.com/blog/?j=2 Fri, 23 Aug 2019 02:48:33 +0100 http://stephanie-brown.com/blog/?j=2
Have you ever been scrolling through FB and come across a post that makes you think? It drags up old memories and it makes you smile remembering the good times you once had. Today that happened to me. I follow many celebrities on FB and today one of them got me thinking.
First of all, I'd like to wish the singer/actor Meatloaf a speedy recovery. On May 4th while in Dallas, he fell and fractured his collarbone and his sternum. I can only imagine the severe pain he's been in. My family and I have been fans of his for what seems like forever. Seeing his name really got me thinking. Not about pain or injury, but about a family member who may be one of his biggest fans. My younger brother.
I don't get to see Robert or Bobby as I call him, very often anymore. Although we live in the same state we are a little over 5 hours drive from each other. It hasn't been easy. To understand why I'll have to explain our past. Back in early 1990, my mom informed my older brother and me that she was having another baby. I was so excited. I thought I was finally going to have a little sister who could be my best friend. I was wrong, but only about one thing. I ended up having an amazing baby brother, but he would still become the most important person in my life. I remember talking to my mom's belly hoping he could hear my voice, setting things on her stomach and giggling as he kicked them off from inside. I was 8 years old by the time he was born and threw the biggest fit when I was told I couldn't go with and watch him be born. I wanted to be involved in everything that had to do with him. I even changed dirty diapers, although I didn't like that part.
My mom had to work so I helped take care of him. When I got a little older I would babysit him, we'd play video games together, play pretend and watch his favorite shows. I won't embarrass him by saying which shows but I'll hint to one because Ringo Starr was great. As we both got older he was like my little shadow. When we first moved to Missouri everyone thought he was my son and I was a young mother because he called me mom from time to time. I think he liked to see the looks on peoples faces when he called me that. Although at times it annoyed me always having him around, I loved how close we were.
One of my favorite memories was when I was helping with set construction for a play. My mom had to work so he had to go with me. My wonderful friends Aaron, Keith, and Michael taught him many bad things that were also very funny. One of them included handing someone a screw and telling them you just screwed them. The best one got me grounded for a week. Thanks again, guys. He told my mom what he learned from my friends by walking up to her and saying, "I'm a lesbian. I like girls." My mom was not happy at all. I, on the other hand, couldn't stop laughing.
I also remember when he was in middle school and in the choir. His class was going to Worlds of Fun to sing and have fun. They were short a chaperone and he asked me to go. I was still very young but out of high school. I didn't think it would be so bad. They're not little kids. I was so wrong. Not only could they never agree on the same ride making me have to be the bad guy, but my brother hated 90% of the rides. I parked him on one ride for a while and took the others to ride rollercoasters. Trying to get a group of middle school kids to watch their language on rides like The Mamba was not easy. Going up the big hill they dropping the f-bomb like crazy. As we went down that first hill I yelled out, "I have to peeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" My plan worked. We then met back up with my brother who had fun but was happy to see me. I decided he's picking the rides and if someone wanted to go on a ride I'd wait with him so he wasn't alone. We had a great time.
Later when he got to high school I never missed a concert or play he was in. Except for a couple when I was forced to work or out of town. From the start of his singing in high school to current times you can hear him down in his room singing away while playing his video games. He was in the musical Rocky Horror Picture Show more than once and each time he played Meatloaf's character. He has an amazing voice unlike our mom and older brother. He's definitely not tone deaf like I am. He taught himself to play the piano/keyboard and guitar. He can sing and is related to Johann Sebastian Bach. I'm proud of him on a daily basis, and I wouldn't trade him for anything. He works hard, owns his own home, and helps take care of our mother.
Bobby, if you ever read this, just remember that you are more amazing than you'll ever realize. You're more loved than you'll ever know. Thank you for always being true to yourself.

P.S. I lost the game. (He'll understand what I mean)

Admin / 22 Aug 2019, 20:03PM]]> <![CDATA[My Inspirations, and my rock!]]> http://stephanie-brown.com/blog/?j=1 Wed, 21 Aug 2019 08:07:51 +0100 http://stephanie-brown.com/blog/?j=1
Every author whether big-time or indie has a story about who or what inspired them to start writing. I'm no different. I'll start with the fact that growing up I hated having to read. I loved writing poems and songs, but reading was no fun. In 8th grade, we had to read the book The Giver by Lois Lowrey for class. We had to read one chapter a night. For the first time in my life, I stayed up all night and read the entire book. That book got me into reading. We didn't have a huge selection of books in the house, but my mom had several Stephen King books. I used to sneak them into my room and read under the covers late at night. I loved his books. It took a while to read each one and I had to read some sentences over and over again to understand them. I'm not stupid I just had trouble reading. I'll get into this more a little later.
Fast-forward to high school. My English teacher noticed I had some issues reading. Instead of reading the books he assigned I was told to write poems and short stories. I enjoyed the writing more than I thought I would. I still hated writing reports but I love the freedom poems and short stories gave me. I could write about how I was feeling, or make up a story that helped my imagination run wild. It piqued my interest but not enough to really want to write books for a living or at all. That would come much later in life.
A few years after I graduated I met a man and fell in love. He was much older and had two kids from one of his previous marriages. We found out his youngest was dyslexic. I didn't know much about it and asked him how they tested him. He said one of the tests included standing in front of a mirror with a book. He was told to hold it open and upside down. If he could read it with no trouble it was a good sign he was dyslexic. It was just one of the tests. It made me giggle so I decided to try it for fun. I was shocked that I could almost speed read the pages in the mirror. I did, later on, go through testing to confirm my dyslexia. It really was nice to know why reading was so difficult my whole life.
I had a friend years later that was working on writing a book. I was excited for her and a little jealous. I didn't think I was smart enough or good enough to write an entire book. In 2015 she talked me into trying to write a book during NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). I was nervous and excited. You're supposed to write 50,000 words in the month of November or at least try. I finished in less than a month. That book was Nightmare in the Shadows. My inspirations are a mix of Stephen King and the many psychotic serial killers who gave me so many ideas. The show Criminal Minds has also inspired me and continues to do so. Many issues have come and gone since it's publishing in 2016 and sadly that person and I are no longer friends. I can be a good person though and I wish her nothing but success.
During my years of trying to write another book, I've met many other Indie Authors. Every one of them is amazing in their own way, but one stands out more than all the others for me. I'll use her pen name for the purpose of this blog. Echo Shea has been my sounding board, my shoulder to cry on, my best friend, and my ROCK! She's my person. If I'm happy, sad, angry, depressed, and/or sick she is always there for me. She keeps me grounded on most days. It is extremely rare for us to go a day without talking. She's talked me off the ledge on numerous occasions and yells at me when I'm stupid and delete an almost finished book because I don't think it's good enough. Echo reminds me daily that I'm smart, special, and can accomplish anything I set my mind to. We have nicknames for each other and remind each other that we are loved and good people. I'll be nice and not reveal out nicknames although they make me smile. Other than a few family members, she is the only person who knows the real me. She knows all my flaws and weaknesses. I trust her with my life.
Thank you Echo for always being there when I need you. I love your face forever.

I hope everyone enjoys my first blog. Don't forget to always follow your dreams. I believe in every one of you.

Admin / 21 Aug 2019, 01:20AM]]>